Analysis Spurs rotations and depth chart

[brazil]

The most likely starting 5 is

Fox
Castle
Vassell
Barnes
Victor

I don't think Mitch will change that even against Mavs in the opening. Usually you don't twist because of match up in the opener tbh... Flagg on Vassell is gonna be a problem same with Barnes but Mavs will have also their problem with DLo and Klay on Fox and Castle tbh... If Victor can offset part of interior mismatch then it is game even tho he will have a full plate with AD. Mavs will be favorites but it is going to be interesting.

 

[brazil]

I cannot wait, we should already have a game thread

 

[Shmurs]

Devin just needs to put out the effort to not give flagg an open path to the paint. No more turnstile shit and we’ll deal with our paint protection

 

[ginobilized]

I hope that Wemby delivers Flagg's welcome to the NBA moment on opening night.
I don't expect much cohesion for either team. Dallas has a huge rebounding advantage, but, the new look Spurs stand a chance. Kornet and Lunch Lady should help offset the Mav's size.

 

[Dex]

The most likely starting 5 is

Fox
Castle
Vassell
Barnes
Victor

I don't think Mitch will change that even against Mavs in the opening. Usually you don't twist because of match up in the opener tbh... Flagg on Vassell is gonna be a problem same with Barnes but Mavs will have also their problem with DLo and Klay on Fox and Castle tbh... If Victor can offset part of interior mismatch then it is game even tho he will have a full plate with AD. Mavs will be favorites but it is going to be interesting.

I think that is the most likely starting five, but Mitch will have to change that for Mavs considering Fox won't be playing.

 

[Shmurs]

it’s gonna be ugly. 2 teams without point guards. One of them has a deep bench of pros. The other has Keldon and Jeremy. Not feeling great about being 1-0

 

[spurraider21]

The most likely starting 5 is

Fox
Castle
Vassell
Barnes
Victor

I don't think Mitch will change that even against Mavs in the opening. Usually you don't twist because of match up in the opener tbh... Flagg on Vassell is gonna be a problem same with Barnes but Mavs will have also their problem with DLo and Klay on Fox and Castle tbh... If Victor can offset part of interior mismatch then it is game even tho he will have a full plate with AD. Mavs will be favorites but it is going to be interesting.

Fox has said he is probably out for at least the opener. and you're going to have harrison barnes boxing out Lively or defending AD? and Vassell checking Flagg?

 

[Guru of Nothing]

Somebody explain SF/W to me. There's Vassell, Champ, Keldon, Bryant, Barnes, and Castle too (according to internet sources) possibly vying for time.

Back court: I'd like to see the 96 backcourt minutes split between Fox-Castle-Harper (32 min each). Always have two on the floor.
Front Court: Split 96 minutes bewteen Wemby, Sochan, Kornet, and Olynyk. 32 for Wemby and the rest TBD. Barnes probably soaks up a few of these minutes too along the way.

This leaves 48 minutes to split between Vassell, Champ, Barnes, Bryant, and Keldon. My preference would be to run Champ with the starters while trying to mold Devin into an elite 6th man, and get Barnes some minutes here when he's not playing a PF-like role.

My Game 7 4th quarter lineup, circa 2027: Wemby, Fox, Castle, Harper, & Bryant

Coaching staff has a monumental challenge figuring this shit out.

 

[Shmurs]

Ultimately you can’t pay a bench guy 27 mill, period. And Devin can’t start on a contending team, period. We are just waiting for the news to bubble up to the front office.

 

[spurs10]

With Fox likely out for the opener, I'm in quandary about the lineup. Maybe Champs at the SF.

 

[Dex]

Ultimately you can’t pay a bench guy 27 mill, period. And Devin can’t start on a contending team, period. We are just waiting for the news to bubble up to the front office.

Sure you can. It's not ideal, but the ink is already dry on the contract.

Spurs should not fall into the sunk cost fallacy. They should play Vassell where he fits best, not because of how much they are paying him.

 

[brazil]

Fox has said he is probably out for at least the opener. and you're going to have harrison barnes boxing out Lively or defending AD? and Vassell checking Flagg?

and you are right, I forgot this small detail

so probably something like:

Castle
Vassell
Barnes/Sochan
Victor

I'd even bet that Keldone will be a prefered option to Olynyk letting Barnes at PF. Mitch will start with the "safest" he can

 

[Exstatic]

and you are right, I forgot this small detail

so probably something like:

Castle
Vassell
Barnes/Sochan
Victor

I'd even bet that Keldone will be a prefered option to Olynyk letting Barnes at PF. Mitch will start with the "safest" he can

Well, KO is still recovering from his spring surgery, so yeah, Keldon is the choice.

 

[RC_Drunkford]

starters against Dallas will be

Castle
Vassell
Barnes
Sochan
Wemby

Somebody explain SF/W to me. There's Vassell, Champ, Keldon, Bryant, Barnes, and Castle too (according to internet sources) possibly vying for time.

SF is simple. Vassell starts, Keldon comes off the bench. Champagnie will only get like 5-10 minutes at SG when everybody's healthy and Bryant will be in Austin. Barnes starts at PF and Castle will play SG unless Mitch wants to try the 3-headed monster line up, which will be rare I assume.

 

[brazil]

starters against Dallas will be

Castle
Vassell
Barnes
Sochan
Wemby

yup it is most likely the one... let's say we won't be favorites

 

[LeBowen]

Mavs matchups won't be that bad for us, it's just that Castle+Sochan doesn't work if they haven't made significant shooting improvements.

I guess it's going to be:
Wemby on AD
Jeremy on Lively
Barnes on Flagg
Devin on Klay
Castle on D'Lo

If Jeremy is struggling we bring Kornet or Olynyk on.
Olynyk is a dirty fucker, maybe he injures AD.

 

[Exstatic]

yup it is most likely the one... let's say we won't be favorites

Their backcourt is a defensive nightmare…for them. If Fox were playing, he’d probably drop 45-50. Wemby is way better than Streetclothes. Not sure how you favor them.

 

[spurraider21]

and you are right, I forgot this small detail

so probably something like:

Castle
Vassell
Barnes/Sochan
Victor

I'd even bet that Keldone will be a prefered option to Olynyk letting Barnes at PF. Mitch will start with the "safest" he can

my question is who do you have matching up with Livley, AD, and Flagg?

 

[brazil]

Their backcourt is a defensive nightmare…for them. If Fox were playing, he’d probably drop 45-50. Wemby is way better than Streetclothes. Not sure how you favor them.

if our backcourt was indeed with Fox, I'd see favoritism a bit different. but we are talking Castle and Vassell not Castle and Fox. Lively on Sochan and Flagg on Barnes good luck to us with that tbh.. Victor would need to be already in superman mode to tap the holes inside

 

[brazil]

my question is who do you have matching up with Livley, AD, and Flagg?

To macth up with AD we have the answer, Lively and Flagg are big mismatch in all configurations anyway so you hope Barnes and Sochan can somewhat stay in front and let Victor do the work

 

[scott]

I'm not willing to write off Fox from opening night just yet, despite what he said on media day. Harper went from can't dribble to getting pre-season action and ready to go for the opener. I'm going to choose to remain optimistic.

 

[Arguendo]

Somebody explain SF/W to me. There's Vassell, Champ, Keldon, Bryant, Barnes, and Castle too (according to internet sources) possibly vying for time.

Back court: I'd like to see the 96 backcourt minutes split between Fox-Castle-Harper (32 min each). Always have two on the floor.
Front Court: Split 96 minutes bewteen Wemby, Sochan, Kornet, and Olynyk. 32 for Wemby and the rest TBD. Barnes probably soaks up a few of these minutes too along the way.

This leaves 48 minutes to split between Vassell, Champ, Barnes, Bryant, and Keldon. My preference would be to run Champ with the starters while trying to mold Devin into an elite 6th man, and get Barnes some minutes here when he's not playing a PF-like role.

My Game 7 4th quarter lineup, circa 2027: Wemby, Fox, Castle, Harper, & Bryant

Coaching staff has a monumental challenge figuring this shit out.

I might be reading your post wrong, but I don't get the Castle SF/W "controversy". Draft height w/o shoes, weight, WS, reach
Castle - 6'5.5", 210.0lbs, 6'9' WS, 8'6" reach, drafted as W/G with exceptional strength and body control @ 19y/o
Vassell - 6'5", 194lbs , 6'10" WS, drafted as a G/W as someone who needs to gain strength, he's now about 200lbs but not stronger
Champ - 6'6.25", 212.4, 6'10" WS, 8'11" reach - unquestionably a W not a G
Barnes - 6'7", 227.8lbs, 6"11.25", 8'5.5" - unquestionably a W, now PF only
Keldon - 6'4.75", 216.4lbs, 6'6.25', 8'8" - unquestionably always a W, absolute tweener between SF & PF, bad at both bc quickness/size

There's always overlap, but can we agree Mikal Bridges is a Wing?- 6'5.25", 220.4, 6'9.5", 8.7.5" @ 22y/o
Jimmy Butler? 6'6", 222.2lbs, 6'7.5", 8'5.5" @ 22y/o

Can we agree W is about size and strength and quickness/body control?
All of these guys have legit NBA size and stregnth for the wing, except Vassell who is lacking the strength for D.

But as to those 48 minutes for small wing, Vassell (Castle plays wing D for Vassell) and Champ should get almost all of them, Barnes/Oly/Sochan share the 48 minutes of big W/PF.

 

[LeBowen]

Castle is officially listed at 6'6, 215 for the upcoming season.

I'd say our only size issue is at PF since most Western teams have PFs that are bigger and stronger than Barnes.
Very few teams have big SFs.
But we can't afford to bench Barnes for Jeremy because of spacing.

 

[DTW]

I'd even bet that Keldone will be a prefered option to Olynyk letting Barnes at PF. Mitch will start with the "safest" he can

Agreed because if, as I think most expect, Sochan won't start and Olynyk will be generally out of the rotation, then Johnson probably subs in for Barnes to avoid a Sochan and Kornet pairing.

That leaves Sochan to either sub in when Wembanyama subs back in for Kornet or for Olynyk to play ahead of Kornet in a particular game.

I might be reading your post wrong, but I don't get the Castle SF/W "controversy". Draft height w/o shoes, weight, WS, reach
Castle - 6'5.5", 210.0lbs, 6'9' WS, 8'6" reach, drafted as W/G with exceptional strength and body control @ 19y/o
Vassell - 6'5", 194lbs , 6'10" WS, drafted as a G/W as someone who needs to gain strength, he's now about 200lbs but not stronger
Champ - 6'6.25", 212.4, 6'10" WS, 8'11" reach - unquestionably a W not a G
Barnes - 6'7", 227.8lbs, 6"11.25", 8'5.5" - unquestionably a W, now PF only
Keldon - 6'4.75", 216.4lbs, 6'6.25', 8'8" - unquestionably always a W, absolute tweener between SF & PF, bad at both bc quickness/size

The Spurs training camp roster has Castle as 220 and Vassell as 205. The others are all within' a few pounds of what you said.

 

[spurraider21]

Castle is officially listed at 6'6, 215 for the upcoming season.

I'd say our only size issue is at PF since most Western teams have PFs that are bigger and stronger than Barnes.
Very few teams have big SFs.
But we can't afford to bench Barnes for Jeremy because of spacing.

our only "PF-sized" players are Sochan and Olynyk. Barnes is is 6'7 without shoes with a 6'11 wingspan. if Carter Bryant bulks up he could eventually be big enough to handle the physicality, but agianst teams that play more old school 2-big lineups like Dallas, and in some case OKC/Houston, it will be tough for either